Archive : Author

Social Justice: Disney Straddles the Line on Merida

POSTED ON May 19th  - POSTED IN Social Justice

Last week we covered Disney Enterprises’ withdrawal of their application to trademark Day of the Dead. Although the company never publicly stated it, the outrage expressed by the Mexican and Mexican American communities caused them to change course. Disney’s public statement said the decision to withdraw from pursuing the trademark was due to changing the name […]

Social Media Judge, Jury & Executioner: Disney’s About Face

POSTED ON May 12th  - POSTED IN Social Justice

In our Sunday series we focus on the powerful, but often reckless impact the mob mentality of Social Media can have on reputations, brands and even criminal justice issues. If you’ve followed us in our quest to explore how the tendency for the mob to gang up and speak, loudly, can alter the outcome of a wide […]

Social Judge, Jury & Executioner: Do Social PR Disasters Really Affect Sales?

POSTED ON May 5th  - POSTED IN Social Justice

Our Social Justice series analyzes incidents of the social media mob judging and deciding who is guilty or innocent on the social networks. We’ve covered two heart wrenching cases of rapes that were judged heavily via social channels, and last week we covered a personal brand,  social bullying and professionalism. At the core of these PR […]

Social Judge, Jury and Executioner: The Lynch Mob in Action

POSTED ON April 28th  - POSTED IN Social Justice

Our concern about the injustice often practiced via the social media mob mentality was the motivation for this blog series from its inception. Each week we analyze an instance, whether it is targeted at an individual or a brand, of social media trying a ‘case’ online and labeling a party guilty, or rarely, innocent.  We […]

Social Judge, Jury & Executioner: A National Tragedy

POSTED ON April 21st  - POSTED IN Social Justice

The  Social Sphere  rode a roller coaster of emotions this week;  amidst an horrific, cowardly, terrorist act in my former and beloved hometown, we used the social networks to follow the unfolding tragedy. On Tuesday I found out about the Boston Marathon explosion while on a business call; Hessie Jones emailed me, knowing my connection […]

Social Media: Judge, Jury & Executioner

POSTED ON April 14th  - POSTED IN Social Justice

Social Media has transformed the PR landscape; gone are the days when spin doctors using a combination of earned & purchased press, crafted impeccably tailored messaging for their clients. Sure, spin is alive and well, but social media has added a layer of transparency that we welcome.  We’ve watched as company after company has its […]

Weekend Wrap: Social Media Buzz Edition

POSTED ON March 31st  - POSTED IN Context

As much as we are prone to segregate our Social lives from “Real Life”, or at least view them as separate segments of our ‘social life,’ when big issues are being tackled in Real Life society, the social world serves as a sounding board and debate club for those issues. This week the Supreme Court’s […]

The ROI of Humanity in Business

POSTED ON March 21st  - POSTED IN Customer at the Core

On Tuesday Andrew Jenkins started a discussion on this blog about organizations showing their humanity. Another way of looking at the humanity of a business is by analyzing its culture: is there a culture of kindness and mutual respect? If there is not, I can guarantee you that there are a tremendous amount of missed […]

Weekend Wrap: The Measurement Edition

POSTED ON March 17th  - POSTED IN Performance and Measurement

As we gear up for the week ahead, we take a weekly look at what’s caught our eyes over the past seven days. This week, we’re taking a look at analytics and measurement, and their importance in any brand’s marketing. Oh, and another Google tool gets put out to pasture – will free Docs be […]

Weekend Wrap: The Necessary Element of Planning

POSTED ON March 9th  - POSTED IN Customer at the Core

This past week our blog here was focused on preparedness issues when it came to social media PR.  We warned about planning for spontaneity and crises management. We talked about fear mongering in the social space and how that should not be the reason to be IN or OUT of it.  Strategy is singularly important. […]